


The Book of Life

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [135]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Rosh HaShana | Jewish New Year, Smoaking billionaires, Toliver, flommy, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-01 03:44:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12147909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: It's the new year and Felicity has taken the children to synagogue. She hopes they can make it through the services without tears or tantrums.





	The Book of Life

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further. 
> 
> Shana Tova to all my readers celebrating Rosh Hashanah.
> 
> Thank you to the remarkable Deena_K whose artwork debuts with this installment.
> 
> This installment is 120/135. The installment list has grown too long for the notes section. You can now find the chronological list for the series, with hyperlinks, at http://archiveofourown.org/works/11051019
> 
> If you are new to the series, welcome.
> 
> Arrow and its characters do not belong to me.

Artwork by Deena_K

 

The sun was finally burning through the morning clouds when Tommy pulled the family minivan into a spot. He turned off the ignition and turned in his seat to face their children. “I want everyone to be on their best behavior. We’re all going to sit still and behave during the entire service. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, da,” the children said in a chorus.

“Nate, stop fussing with your yarmulke,” Felicity admonished their four-year-old.

Nate put his hand down and immediately began to fuss with his tie.

Tommy reached over and squeezed Felicity’s hand. He gave her a smile, “Let’s get our names written in the book before he can change his mind.”

Felicity laughed. Taking the children to synagogue on high holy days was always stressful. The twins, especially Nate, could never sit still and someone always ended up in tears before the service was over.

Tommy got out of the car first, opened Felicity’s door and held his hand out to his wife. She slipped her hand into his and instantly felt herself relax. He opened the back door and unhooked the twins from their car seats. The children lined up outside the van. Tommy straightened Bobby and Nate’s ties before checking on his own in the van’s window.

“Why couldn’t I stay home with daddy?” Becca asked as she twirled in her new dress.

“Because your daddy hurt his knee and he’s supposed to be resting,” Felicity answered for the tenth time since they left the house. Oliver had landed wrong jumping from a fire escape the night before. He’d caught the bad guy, but went to bed with a knee swollen to the size of a grapefruit. Felicity feared that ice wasn’t going to cut it this time. Oliver had been avoiding knee replacement surgery for almost as long as she’d known him. Ray and Caitlin had been working on a new technique that used nanites and tissue regeneration based on Barry’s meta DNA. Oliver might end up being their first human guinea pig.

Prue lifted her arms to be picked up. Not wanting to start the morning with a scene, Tommy obliged and lifted their daughter into his arms. He held her in his right arm and took Becca’s hand in his left. Felicity took Bobby and Nate’s hands before they began to follow other families into the synagogue.

“Where’s Grandma?” Becca asked, craning her neck.

“I’m sure she’s inside,” Felicity answered as she surveyed the parking lot for her mom’s car.

“There’s Emma,” Bobby began to wave excitedly.

Emma spotted him and waved back. She was with her mother, Rhonda, who nervously ran her hands over her dress. It had been five years since Emma had started working for their family. Emma no longer felt like an employee but another member of their family. In all the time Emma had been working for them, her mother had never warmed to the Merlyn-Queen-Smoaks. It wasn’t because she disapproved of their relationship, it seemed that Mrs. Green was uncomfortable with their wealth. Felicity tried to be mindful of Rhonda’s feeling and did her best not to shower Emma with gifts. Rhonda had worked hard to provide for Emma as best she could. In many ways, Rhonda was a lot like Donna, just with a lot less cleavage.

When Emma started working for them, she became exposed to a world she’d never imagined growing up in the Glades. The Merlyn-Queen-Smoaks had introduced Emma to a world of privilege that Rhonda sometimes resented. In order to drive Bobby around, Emma had been provided with a brand new car. Emma had also become the beneficiary of Felicity’s overflowing closet. One of the crazy things about being rich and famous was that designers sent Felicity free clothing and accessories. Felicity always gave Emma first pick before she let Grace raid her closet. It was easy to be kind to Emma, but she could sense Rhonda’s discomfort with their kindness. Emma walked around with pocketbooks that cost more than three months of her mother’s salary.

“Shana Tova,” Felicity greeted Emma and Rhonda.

“Shana Tova,” Rhonda said, kissing Felicity and Tommy’s cheeks.

“Shana Tova,” Tommy said. “You’re still going to join us for dinner tonight?”

“Yes, it’s very kind of you to invite us,” Rhonda said solemnly. “I made challah bread last night.”

“Your challah bread is my favorite,” Bobby gushed enthusiastically. “It makes the best french toast.”

Rhonda pinched Bobby’s cheek, and smiled, “I made an extra loaf, just for you.”

Felicity was no longer shocked by how charming her eldest could be. Rhonda may never like her or her husbands, but she did seem to enjoy the Smoak children.

“Your dresses are very pretty,” Rhonda said to Becca and Prue.

"Thank you." Becca held out the skirt of her dress, “Grandma bought them for us.”

“Your Grandma has very good taste,” Rhonda said.

“Speaking of, we better go find her,” Felicity said to Tommy.

 

They found Donna in a pew that didn’t have enough room for all six of them. He quickly scanned the pews to find one with room for all of them.

“I’ll take the twins, you sit with your mom,” Tommy told Felicity as he took hold of Nate’s hand.

Prue patted Tommy’s shoulder, “I want to sit with Grandma.”

“Me too,” Nate piped up.

Becca put her arms around Donna, “I want to sit with Grandma.”

“I’ll sit with my babies, you can sit right behind us,” Donna offered.

Felicity shared a look with Tommy. She could see him try to calculate how much trouble the children could get into sitting with their grandmother. The congregation had many children, but it always seemed worse when their children were naughty with an audience. Rightly or wrongly, Felicity always felt like her family was judged harsher because of who they were. Whenever the children misbehaved, she imagined everyone contributed it to them being raised in a poly marriage.

“Okay.” Tommy pointed at Bobby and handed him Prue, “You first, Prue can sit between you and your grandmother.

When Becca moved to follow Donna, Tommy took hold of her shoulder, “Nate next, then you.” He was putting as many bodies between Bobby and Becca as possible. Together, they would either start horsing around or squabbling. When she started to pout he said, “Or, you can come sit with your mom and me.”

Becca followed Nate to her seat without another word.

Tommy joined Felicity in the pew directly behind Donna and the kids. He laced their fingers together and closed his eyes. She enjoyed watching him in these quiet moments. He had a look of peace and contentment as he said a silent prayer.

Attending synagogue hadn’t been a regular part of Felicity’s upbringing. Donna’s grueling work schedule often precluded attending services. They celebrated holidays and Felicity had attended Hebrew School and had a bat mitzvah, but she wouldn’t characterize her upbringing as religious. One of the many surprises of her relationship with her husbands was how they’d embraced raising their children Jewish. Oliver was supportive of their decision and he attended services on all the high holy days, but he was an unabashed atheist. It was Tommy who made the effort to make sure they were regulars at the weekly services.

Before they came out, Tommy had attended mass once or twice a month. After they came out, he only attended on his mom’s birthday, the anniversary of her death and Christmas. Oliver, Felicity and the children attended church with Tommy on those occasions. When Felicity asked if he missed going to church more routinely, he’d denied it. He claimed he had the same sense of peace sitting in a synagogue as he got in a church. Watching Tommy, Felicity believed him.

A small smile played across his lips. “You’re staring,” he said softly.

Felicity smiled, “I love you.”

He opened his eyes, “I love you.”

Tommy stood up to allow a family to enter the pew. “Holy Smoaks,” Tommy whispered as he sat back down.

Felicity turned to face her husband. He tilted his head and she turned to follow his gaze. She caught William sliding into the pew that held Emma and Rhonda. He placed a kiss on both their cheeks before he sat forward. Catching his step-parents staring, he gave them a small wave.

“Are they dating?” Felicity whispered through her teeth as she waved back. As far as she knew, William and Emma’s relationship was strictly platonic with a lot of aggressive flirting. Attending Rosh Hashanah services could be a sign of William finally working up the nerve to ask Emma out.

“When I was his age the only way you would’ve gotten me to attend synagogue is if I was, you know,” he waggled his eyebrows. “Come to think of it,” his grin grew broader, “it’s still the main reason I come.”

Felicity rolled her eyes, “Careful, your name hasn’t been entered into the book yet.” She leaned closer to him and whispered, “Emma would’ve told us if they were dating, right?”

“You can interrogate her at dinner tonight,” Tommy reminded her.

Felicity was prevented from further speculation as the service began.

Since the twins’ birth, Felicity found Rosh Hashanah services to be emotional for her. The reading of God’s visitation to Sarah from the Torah always made Felicity think of her own struggles with fertility and made her grateful for the four miracles she’d been blessed with. She accepted a tissue from Tommy when she spotted the first sign of trouble amongst her brood. Nate was fidgeting in his seat and Becca was elbowing him to try and get him to sit still.

Tommy leaned forward and whispered something to Nate and Becca. Both children nodded their heads and sat up straight. Tommy sat back and gave his wife a reassuring smile.

Felicity tried not to groan as she watched Nate turn around and sit on his knees. He held out his arms and loudly whispered, “Da, I want to sit with you.”

Felicity could feel the eyes of the congregation turning towards them. In a move that would make Barry jealous, Tommy scooped Nate up and over the pew and onto his lap in a flash. Nate smiled up at his dad before he snuggled against Tommy’s chest.

With the crisis averted, Felicity let out a sigh of relief and returned her attention to the reading of the Torah.

Prue yelped with surprise when the shofar sounded. She turned in the pew to face her parents with tears in her eyes, her hands covering her ears. Tommy shifted Nate onto Felicity’s lap before he lifted Prue over the back of the pew. Her small body shuddered in Tommy’s arms. Instead of sitting down, Tommy stood all the way up and carried their daughter out of the service.

In contrast, Nate sat with a look of awe on his face. When the last reverberation of the shofar stopped, Nate’s face lit up with a smile and he clapped his hands with delight. Felicity grabbed his hands to silence him. He looked to her and asked, “Mommy, can I have one?”

The whole congregation laughed at Nate’s enthusiastic delight.

“Nathaniel,” Rabbi Liebowitz said with a smile, “if you’re good for the rest of the service I will let you try.”

Nate nodded, “Thank you.”

The congregation laughed again.

The rest of the service was uneventful. As soon as the congregation stood to leave, Nate was pushing his way through the congregation to get his chance to try the shofar.

“I’ll stay with him,” Donna said with a smile, “you can go check on Prue.”

Bobby spotted his big brother with Emma, took Becca’s hand and pulled her through the sea of adults.

Felicity found Tommy and Prue in the garden. Prue was sitting on the edge of the reflecting pool pushing a floating leaf with a twig. Felicity wrapped her arms around Tommy’s waist, “She okay?”

“She’s not a fan of ram horns,” Tommy said with a grin.

“Well, her brother definitely is. I think he’s going to play the trumpet,” she pretended to shiver.

“It can’t be any worse than having a drummer or a violinist,” he replied. “Speaking of,” he looked around, “we seem to be short three children.”

“B2 are with William. Nate’s with mom,” she answered, “trying out the shofar.”

Tommy laughed.

“Ready to go home, sweet pea?” Felicity asked her youngest.

Prue looked up and smiled. She stood up and ran towards Felicity. She pulled an orange leaf from her pocket, “Look what I found for daddy.”

“It’s a very pretty leaf. Your daddy will love it,” Felicity said holding out her hand.

Prue shook her head, “Da, carry me.”

“You can walk,” Tommy told her. “Let’s go find your brothers and sister.”

Prue frowned but took Felicity’s hand.

They found the rest of the family waiting out front.

“How was the shofar, buddy?” Tommy asked.

Nate sighed heavily, “I couldn’t make a sound. Rabbi says I have to practice. Will you buy me a shofar?”

“We’ll think about it?” Tommy answered.

“I can stop playing the piano and practice the shofar instead,” Nate offered.

“Shofar or no shofar, you’re still taking piano lessons,” Tommy said.

“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Felicity asked William.

“I thought I’d go and check on dad,” William answered.

“He’ll like that,” Felicity said.

“Can I go home with Will?” Bobby asked.

“May I go home with Will?” Tommy corrected.

Bobby rolled his eyes, “May I go home with Will?”

“Yes,” Tommy answered.

“I want to go home with Will too,” Becca whined.

“Me too,” Nate and Prue said together.

Tommy pulled the keys to the minivan out of his pocket and held them out to William. His stepson laughed and swapped car keys.

Donna hugged Felicity, “I’m going to get Quentin and then we’ll be over to help with dinner. Oliver needs to stay off his leg.”

“Thanks mom,” Felicity said.

“You need help getting them into the car?” Tommy asked William.

“Nope, I’ve got it,” William said.

“Hold your brother’s hand,” Felicity instructed the twins. “Bobby, hold Becca’s hand.”

Tommy put his arm around Felicity’s shoulder as they watched the children walk towards the minivan. He held the keys to William’s car in front of her eyes, “I just scored us keys to a Porsche. Want to go make out somewhere?”

“We shouldn’t,” Felicity said half-heartedly.

“Come on, Smoak, live a little,” he teased, holding out his hand. “It’s a new year.”

Felicity took his hand and pulled him towards William’s car, “Let’s make it a happy one.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Hearing from you is my favorite part of the day.
> 
> Work has been hectic and I've been working fourteen hour days. There is a good chance that I will need to reduce my number of postings to once a week until things calm down. 
> 
> Prompt requests are encouraged.
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com


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